The Voyage
by ALifeOfFiction000
Summary: Sequel to The Prisoner. After a year, Edmund believes the Narnia he left has passed, as well as the ones he loved. Upon return with Lucy and Eustace, he is left to discover everything that has happened and rediscover his place with Mary. They face dangers and temptations as they join Caspian on his voyage, and they see how Narnia has changed, as well as themselves.
1. Chapter 1

**Sorry for the long wait, although I think it is appropriate with the time difference between the two stories! Makes it feel like a longer time. Anyway, please enjoy the first chapter :)**

"Alberta Scrubb?"

"It's a typographical error. It's supposed to be Albert A. Scrubb." The man looked between the paper and Edmund with obvious suspicion, but the boy seemed confident in his answer.

"Edmund," a girl a few years younger than him called from the door. She smiled knowingly and held up a basket of food. "You're supposed to be helping me with the groceries." Edmund slowly looked from the girl back to the man at the table, his eyes pleading that his obvious exposure may be overlooked. However, without him able to think of an explanation quickly, and with Lucy obviously not going to back down, the man shook his head and laughed, throwing the paper back at him. Edmund sighed and took the paper, the man behind him pressing down on his head and pushing him over towards the door.

"Better luck next time, eh squirt?" he laughed, the rest of the men joining in. Edmund stumbled forward but quickly regained control of his steps, readjusting his hat and rolling his eyes.

"Squirt? He barely had two years on me," Edmund complained as they left. Lucy smiled as they approached their bikes, facing her irritated brother. "I'm a king. I've fought wars, and I've led armies."

"Not in this world," she reminded him, situating the basket on the bike.

"Yeah, instead I'm stuck here, doing battle with Eustace Clarence Scrubb, if anyone so deserves a name." As Edmund ranted, Lucy looked past him to where a young soldier stood with a pretty girl, her back resting against a pole as she faced the entranced boy. Lucy watched as the girl flirted, seeing how she captivated the man's attention and won his heart simply by pushing her hair behind her ear, gazing up at him as she did so. Lucy reached up and mirrored the lady's actions, pushing her hair back and wondering if it would have the same effect, if she were ever given the opportunity. "What are you doing?" Edmund asked, oblivious. She jumped at the sound of his voice, shaking her head in embarrassment.

"Nothing. Come on then." Lucy kept her head down as she moved forward, pushing her bike along. Edmund found her behavior particularly strange, looking behind him to see what she may have been gazing at. Her had noticed she had been acting strangely lately, but so had he. Jumping worlds tended to have a lasting effect. Although he couldn't decide what she may have been looking at, he noticed a man and a woman leaning against the building, and he quickly followed behind Lucy, his hands tight around the bike's handlebars. He wondered if the sting would ever go away. He wondered why he couldn't move on. There was no point in waiting any longer. But instead of seeking new affection, he distracted himself in pursuit of war.

They entered the house and Lucy greeted their uncle, asking if she should begin making soup for dinner. She placed the basket of food on the table and came back to look at her uncle after receiving no response. He held a newspaper in front of his face, unresponsive to her or Edmund's presence. "Uncle Harold?" she questioned, looking at Edmund when he still did not answer. Edmund shook his head and stuck out his tongue.

"Father!" a pestering voice immediately called from the stairs. Edmund looked back, recognizing the voice. "Edmund's making faces at you," he quickly tattled, lifting up a straw and spitting a ball at Edmund, hitting him in the neck. Edmund flinched and wiped it from his neck, glaring at the irritating boy.

"Why, you little!" he yelled, dashing up the stairs after him.

"Father, he's going to hit me!" Eustace cried, ducking in place as Edmund came closer.

"Edmund!" Lucy interrupted right as he clenched his hand into a fist. Edmund reluctantly stopped, lowering his hand and looking to Lucy, noticing the paper in her hand. "It's from Susan," she explained, although he already knew. Lucy and Susan had been writing to each other ever since she left for America, and they had been stuck living with their terrible cousin Eustace. For the most part Lucy was the only one to write, and so usually Susan wrote specifically to Lucy, but Edmund always listened to what she had to say. On occasion, Lucy would stop reading, and he could tell she would skip a few lines before continuing. That, he supposed, was something written only for her. He also figured it was about him, but he never questioned.

* * *

><p>"It's been such an adventure, but nothing like our times in Narnia," Lucy read, sitting on the bed as Edmund came in and closed the door, shutting out the sound of Eustace complaining to his father downstairs about how Edmund always tried to hit him. Edmund sat down beside Lucy and looked at the letter, but as she continued reading he stood and walked to the other side of the room. He loved his sister, but she always seemed to bring up Narnia in her letters, and he wished they would all let it go. He had noticed, however, that in each letter it seemed to be mentioned less, and although he no longer wished to speak of it, he worried that Susan might be losing faith in it all. As if it were just a dream, and now she was simply entertaining their imagination, as if they were children and she were an adult. It was a terrible feeling, but it was one that came with being the youngest.<p>

Lucy read about a party Susan was invited to by an officer, and she spoke of how she suspected he might fancy her. Lucy's voice dropped off, her eyes looking away from the letter for a moment. Edmund noticed her push her hair behind her ear like she had done earlier, and he furrowed his brows in confusion once again. Why was she acting so strangely? He lost interest in what was being said until Lucy read the part where Susan told them their mother expected them to remain in place a few months longer.

"Another few months?" Lucy said, Edmund walking over and sitting next to her once again. "How will we survive?" Edmund took the letter from Lucy's hands and read it for himself, folding it up quickly and tossing it onto the bedside table.

"They're the lucky ones, going off on such adventures." Lucy walked over to the mirror on the wall, looking at it briefly.

"They're the oldest and we're the youngest. We don't matter as much," Edmund said resentfully, lying back onto the bed and looking up at the ceiling.

"Do you think I look anything like Susan?" Lucy asked, glancing at the mirror again and twirling the curls in her hair.

"I don't suppose," Edmund answered without paying much attention, closing his eyes. Lucy frowned and quickly looked away from the mirror, hoping her image wouldn't depress her any further. When she looked at Edmund, his eyes closed, she noticed the dark circles under his eyes.

"Are you still not getting much sleep?"

"It's hard to when sharing a room with that pest," he grumbled, his eyes remaining closed.

"You're not having that dream again, are you? Would you tell me if you were?"

"I'm fine, Lucy, and I wish you would drop it."

"I can't, Edmund. We're all worried about you-"

"It doesn't matter anyway. Things have changed. Susan is in America, Peter is off studying, and we are stuck here. And I mean _here_, Lucy."

"He said we would return-"

"It doesn't matter anymore!" Edmund sat up quickly.

"Don't say that."

"It's been a year, Lu. A year. She's been dead for centuries." Edmund fell back onto his back and closed his eyes, sighing heavily.

"Edmund, please, I beg you not say that," Lucy responded quietly.

"It's true." A moment of silence settled between them, and Lucy began wringing her hands.

"You act like no one could possibly understand how you feel, but you forget we all left people behind. Peter and Susan can't even go back. She was my friend, Edmund, as were many others. And Susan got fairly close to Caspian too, I'd say, but she'll never see him again." Lucy though for a moment, then changed tones, speaking quietly. "Although it doesn't seem so tragic, seeing as she already has suitors lining up. She doesn't have to worry about things like that-"

"People always say how terrible it is to grow old and outlive all your friends and your loved ones. I wonder what they'd say if they had to do it twice." Lucy nodded and stared sadly at her brother, wondering how long it would take for the two of them to forget everything and everyone they had lost—she cynically suspected the moment they adjusted, if they ever did, they would once again be thrown into the beautifully bitter world of Narnia. Now she couldn't imagine either her or Edmund finding much joy in the place. It would be too different.

She remembered the first few weeks after they had returned they waited breathlessly, flinching at any movement or noise, hoping to be pulled back in time to be reunited with the ones they cared about. She tried to remember when Edmund began to realize the time had long passed in Narnia. It was confusing trying to keep track of how the time progressed there in comparison to where they were now. But after a year, there was no longer any doubt. There was no stress in waiting to return, watching the clock and being aware of the time limit. Narnia had to be in a new age, and Lucy nearly cried as she imagined what Edmund was going through. He had opened up to her once a few months ago about a part of this reoccurring nightmare. Although he wouldn't reveal much in detail, he confessed that his dream always ended the same. He dreamed of Mary dying, him having never returned. He had often wondered, once he had accepted her to be dead, what she had done with her life in the few weeks of his that had passed so quickly.

"Have you seen this painting, Ed?" Lucy asked, finding the picture of the ship on the water more appealing than usual. There was something about the way the colors were blended that almost created an illusion of the water moving, and she was eager to find a change of topic—something to release the heavy tension.

"Have you seen this ship before?" Edmund asked as he got off of the bed, titling his head and approaching the painting. He ran his fingers over the design of the sails.

"Yes, it's very Narnian looking, isn't it?" Lucy offered carefully, gauging his mood.

"Yeah. Just another reminder that we're here and not there." Lucy was surprised by his comment, wondering if he still wanted to be there despite it all.

"There once were two orphans who wasted their time, believing in Narnian nursery rhymes," Eustace taunted as he slowly pushed open the door, revealing himself.

"Please let me hit him," Edmund said as he stepped forward, but Lucy put her arm out and stopped him."Don't you ever knock?" Edmund asked, rolling his eyes and stepping back.

"It's my house. I'll do as I please. You're just guests." Edmund and Lucy turned back to the painting, choosing to ignore him. Not feeling satisfied in his taunting, he decided to stay, walking over to the bed and sitting down. "What's so fascinating about that picture anyway? It's hideous," he responded, jealous that they were no longer paying attention to him.

"You won't see it from outside of the door," Edmund offered.

"Edmund, it looks like the water is actually moving." Lucy leaned closer to the painting and continued to ignore their cousin.

"What rubbish. See? That's what happens when you read all of those fanciful novels and fairy tales of yours." Eustace remained on the bed, but his feet bounced as he waited for a response.

"There once was a boy called Eustace, who read books full of facts that were useless." Lucy glanced sideways at her brother and shook her head, wishing he wouldn't play along.

"People who read fairy tales are always the sort that are hideous burdens for people like me who read books with real information."

"Hideous burden?" Edmund asked, turning to look at the young boy. Eustace rose from the bed and began backing away, realizing he had crossed the line. "I haven't seen you lift a finger since we've been here." As Eustace looked at the door, Edmund followed his eyes and quickly slammed it shut with his hand, standing in front of it and blocking his way out.

"Edmund?" Lucy could faintly hear as he threatened to tell on Eustace for stealing candy, but her eyes watched the painting as it looked more and more as if it were moving. She felt a slight breeze begin to move her hair, and she could swear she felt a mist falling on her face.

"I found them under your bed. And you know what? I licked every one of them."

"Ew, I'm infected with you," Eustace whined.

"Edmund!" The two boys looked as water began to trickle out from the picture's frame, increasing until Lucy had to move away as it poured onto the floor.

"What's going on here? Is it some sort of trick?" Eustace cried, watching as water began to pool around his feet and cover the floor.

"Do you think?" Edmund asked, looking to Lucy, both smiling. For some odd reason, they both became extremely excited by the thought that they were returning, despite the dread they had visited only moments earlier. And that was the thing with Aslan's promises—they were so easy to doubt, but the hope never fully left, and with just the slightest spark, the doubt and the despair was momentarily forgotten.

"Stop it, or I'm going to tell mother!" Eustace warned, backing himself up against the door. He watched as his cousins drew closer to the water-expelling picture, and from where he stood he believed the ship in the picture was moving closer to them. "Oh, maybe I'll just break the frame!" he yelled, pushing through the water and coming between Edmund and Lucy, pulling the picture from the wall and finding that the flowing water had added unbelievable weight to the previously light object. Edmund and Lucy panicked, holding the frame up and trying to pull it from Eustace.

"Let go!" Lucy yelled, the three trying to escape from drowning under the frame. The picture fell into the water that had been rising quickly, and if it were possible, the water continued to flow faster. The furniture in the room was lifted from the ground and began floating. The three struggled against an invisible current that pulled them back and then under, fully submerging them in an ocean apart from their previous room.

* * *

><p>Lucy was the first to come up, followed by Edmund then Eustace. They didn't have much time to catch their breath, for the very ship they had taken notice of in the painting was headed their way.<p>

"Swim!" Edmund yelled, the three swimming out of the ship's path. However, as the ship came closer, a group of men jumped off and began coming after them. As Lucy was farther back, she was the first one met by one of the sailors. She continued trying to swim away, but as the boy drew closer she kicked her legs in an attempt to force him to keep his distance. He was undeterred, though, and simply swam under her, surprising her as he came in front of her and blocked her from swimming any farther. "Edmund!" Lucy yelled as the boy held onto her, trying to keep them both from drowning as she fought against him.

"Miss, please, we're trying to help. I'm not going to hurt you, I'm trying to save you!" Lucy stopped her thrashing and looked at him, seeing past him that Edmund was swimming their way, another man coming with him.

"Are we in Narnia, then?"

"Yes ma'am, you are."

"Lucy, are you all right?" Edmund swam up to them and Lucy nodded.

"I am fine to swim on my own, thank you," she politely added, the boy smiling and letting her go.

"Then shall we go back to the ship?" He put his arm out and Lucy hesitantly began to swim forward, Edmund waiting for the boy to follow before he too headed for the ship. As they approached, Lucy heard the boy behind her yell up to the rest of the crew.

"Tell Caspian we retrieved the three!" he yelled, not noticing her surprised face as he guided her to where they would be pulled up.

"Caspian? Your captain is Caspian?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes, and technically our King, although it gets all confusing-"

"Edmund!" Lucy yelled, her smile uncontainable. "It's Caspian! Caspian is the captain of this ship!" Edmund swam faster to where Lucy was, struggling to understand her as he was being pushed by the waves.

"What was that, Lu-" But as he looked up on the ship to where the men stood ready to pull Lucy up, Edmund saw Caspian come through the crowd, their eyes locking and faces showing immediate recognition followed by overwhelming disbelief. And all Edmund could focus on was the fact that Caspian did not look like he had aged much more than a couple of years. In that moment, Edmund felt foolish that he had believed he could predict the time of Narnia.

**Well, are you excited for the next chapter? Just some things to say, I'm sure you noticed Lucy was in this chapter more. I do plan for her to play a significant role in this story because I believe her development in this one is very important. Also, she may be getting her own romantic interest to help with some of the development. Another issue to address: age. In the last story I said Mary was sixteen, so in this story she will be nineteen. I'm pretty sure I implied Edmund was about seventeen, so he'll be eighteen in this one. Therefore, Lucy is about sixteen. I think these ages are different from the book or movie, but for the sake of this story it's how they needed to be. Anyway, let me know if something is wrong or what you think about the first chapter, and your thoughts for upcoming chapters. I hope you all continue to read the sequel, and I hope you liked it!**


	2. Chapter 2

"Lucy!" Caspian greeted, helping her onto the ship once she had been pulled up. Once she stepped onto the deck they lowered the board by rope so that the others could be pulled up next. "Now where did you come from?" he asked laughing, pulling her into a brief hug.

"It's hard to explain, and I'm not quite sure you'd believe me."

"I think I've learned better than not to believe you. Anyway, I'm just glad you're here! I wasn't sure if I'd ever see you again."

"Oh, Caspian, how long has-"

"Caspian!" Edmund was brought on board and ran to Caspian smiling, grabbing his hand and pulling him into a hug. Lucy didn't mind the interruption, for it was the happiest she had seen her brother in quite some time.

"Edmund!" Caspian pulled away smiling, his eyes looking over to the young boy that had been found with him. He was looking around him in panic, shooing away any help that was offered. "And who is this you've brought with you?"

"I wouldn't say we brought him, but somehow he managed to come along. He's our cousin, but I wouldn't pay him much attention if I were you. I try not to, anyway." Caspian nodded and redirected his attention back to the Pevensies, patting each on the shoulder and beaming.

"It's just so good to see you two."

"I don't think you know how good it is to see you. And surprising. It's been a year since we were here last, so I thought it would be like last time. I thought you would all be gone."

"I see."

"Speaking of time, Caspian, how long has it been?"

"It's been three years since you left. Not nearly as much time as when you left the first time I see."

"So then, Mary?" Edmund asked, watching Caspian's face. He raised his eyebrows in understanding, as if he had just remembered her.

"Right, of course."

"Is she well?"

"She's okay, Ed."

"Well where is she? I'm not sure where _we_ are necessarily, but is she back at the castle? Is she queen now?" Edmund couldn't read Caspian's face, but it was clear something wasn't being said, and it made him nervous.

"Let's talk, shall we? There's a lot to be said, I feel. But first, I'm curious to see how you've fared over time." Caspian called one of his men over to bring a sword, which he then handed to Edmund. "Care for a fight?"

"I've never fought you before," Edmund said, twirling the sword in his hand then gripping it tightly, excited by the challenge. Caspian could see his excitement and shook his head as he proceeded to clarify.

"Well, not me, although we will have to see about that soon. Follow me." Caspian began walking to where a group of his men stood in a circle, and as they came closer Edmund could hear the familiar sound of swords clashing. As they made their way closer to the middle, they had to dodge out of the way as a man was pushed into the crowd, his sword falling to the ground. "You're up!" Caspian yelled, pushing Edmund into the middle and immediately into the fight.

His opponent did not hesitate, but met him immediately. He quickly brought his sword up to block the attack, and figured this was how the arrangement worked. To test someone's ability it's important to test his speed and reaction, so there was no time given between one opponent and the next. It was complete chaos, and it set Edmund's heart beating at a speed it hadn't reached since his last time in Narnia. It was exhilarating, and welcomed.

Edmund smiled as he narrowly dodged the next attack, admiring his attacker's speed. He was quickly reminded how exciting a duel was, and though it felt strange, at first, fighting with a sword, he was surprised by how quickly it all came back. He dodged a few more blows before he felt ready to be on the offensive, but he was ready. His mind cleared instantly of all the troubles he had been carrying, and his focus set in as he slowly backed his way to one of the wooden poles on the ship and dodged the attack, the sword hitting the wood where his head had been moments before. He brought his sword underneath the other and pushed it up above their heads, knocking his opponent to the side, instantly gaining the upper hand as their swords clashed unevenly and he began forcing the fighter backwards. He could tell he was stronger, but he would not allow himself to underestimate an opponent's ability, as he had seen happen to others. As he had seen happen in his last duel, he remembered.

"Caspian?" Lucy whispered, touching his arm lightly as she squinted, leaning forward and around the body in front of her in an attempt to see the face of who Edmund was fighting. "It's a girl?" Lucy questioned, Edmund soon standing in her way of seeing the woman's face.

"One of our finest." Caspian watched smiling as Lucy pushed her way closer. "But I wouldn't worry too much, Edmund seems to have retained the majority of his skill." Lucy managed to catch a quick glimpse of the girl before Edmund began forcing her backwards, coming down on her sword harder and harder with each blow as she came closer to being cornered by a wall.

"Caspian!" Lucy exclaimed, squeezing his arm tighter and looking to him. "He doesn't know who he is fighting!"

"I don't suppose he's noticed yet," Caspian replied casually.

"Edmund!" Lucy began to shout, but Caspian pulled her back and hushed her.

"He'll find out soon enough."

Edmund too noticed that his opponent was not a man, but he tried to remain focused. He had seen how the other man had been pushed into the crowd, so he knew she could hold her own, and therefore he knew that he couldn't go easy on her. She wanted to fight, so he would give her a fair fight.

He could tell the girl knew what he was doing for she tried to step to the side and away from the path they were taking to the wall, but he blocked her by swinging his sword from the side and forcing her to continue straight. With no hope left, she decided the only way to win would be to attempt to disarm him, so the next time she hit his sword she didn't pull away, but pressed the two looked up at their swords, she realized she had made a terrible mistake. Instantly her mind reminded her of something she had been told when learning to fight: "never get into a battle of strength. You can't win." The boy she was fighting was obviously stronger than her, as were many of her opponents, and by stopping the momentum of their swords, she had given him full leverage. Realizing she had lost, she wracked her brain for some clever trick she may be able to play out in the next moment that could spare her from her mistake, but as she thought in the few seconds she had, Lucy's voice broke through and the two could hear her yell Edmund's name.

Her arms shook under the weight he was pressing against her sword, and as she stumbled back, she found he had somehow managed to place his foot behind hers and she fell, her back hitting the wall and his sword pushing against hers across her chest so that she was pinned. But she didn't care because suddenly she could see the voice was right. They looked each other in the eye, both breathing heavily.

"Edmund?" she asked, although she knew it was him, but needed confirmation still for she was unaware how he could be there. They dropped their swords and Edmund took a step back, allowing her to push off the wall and stand up straight. Once she stood, she didn't hesitate in approaching him and putting her hands on his face, leaning up and pressing her lips against his, pulling him down with her so she could stand flat on her feet. Their kiss faded into a smile and soon they were laughing, but she didn't want to let him go, so she wrapped her arms around his neck and cried happily into his shoulder.

The sailors that surrounded them began to whisper and ask each other if this were the king that had disappeared and left their queen so heartbroken. Some confidently verified it was he, for they had been in the crowd when he had left with the others. It seemed just to them how Mary had joined them on the voyage in hopes of escaping her sadness of losing him, and it was on the voyage she had found him. It brought them great joy, for each sailor cared about their queen and had seen her suffering and had mourned with her, and they felt privileged to experience the overwhelming reunion.

"And what did he do to deserve such a welcoming?" A faltering voice broke through the loud uproar the crew was making. "There is nothing special about him, I assure you. This must be some kind of mistake. And a king? You wish to tell me this dense fool is a king? This must all be some kind of cruel joke, and when I get back home I can assure you my father will-" Caspian waved over one of the Minotaurs to take Eustace to a bunk below deck where he may sleep off some of his madness. However, as the Minotaur approached the boy and smiled, Eustace stopped speaking, though his mouth kept moving, which soon stopped as well, and he fainted.

"Why don't we give them some room, men? As I spoke earlier, there's a lot to be said." Caspian smiled and waved his men back to their appropriate posts, leading Lucy away to help move Eustace until he regained consciousness.

"Mary-" Edmund began, but Mary shook her head, putting up her finger.

"Follow me," she said, taking his hand.

* * *

><p>They each sat on a hammock facing each other, an awkward silence settling in now that they found themselves alone.<p>

"So it's been one year for you, and three for me," she clarified, receiving a short nod as affirmation. She looked down at her hands and began to rock in her hammock.

"I thought you were dead," Edmund confessed. "For a long time, I've thought you were dead."

"But I'm not," Mary said quickly, although it sounded almost like a question. Although she was not questioning whether or not she were dead, she was questioning more about what it meant that she was not, something Edmund understood from her tone. The same question was on his mind, but neither quite knew how to proceed. "I was so happy to see you—surprised really, so I'm sorry if I acted too quickly. In all honesty, I'm not really sure who we are to each other right now, if that makes any sense. It's been so long, and so much has happened, I almost feel like we're different people meeting for the first time, and yet everything about you is so familiar. It's like I can't see how you may have changed, but I know you have. Except of course that you have gotten taller, and you cut your hair," she finished smiling, rocking her hammock forward so she could touch the ends of his hair where it fell onto his forehead. She stopped after a moment and drew her hand back, settling back into her hammock and sitting farther away.

"And you've gotten better," Edmund said suddenly, looking at her. "With sword fighting. You must have been practicing."

"Well I've had three years."

"Right." Mary smiled sadly, wondering why after all the dreams of his return, all they could do was sit across from each other and talk about his haircut and her sword fighting. It was all so wrong. They had interacted more closely when fighting, unaware of the other's identity. There was something still separating them that was causing her great frustration, although she knew what it was; it was the time that had passed and everything they weren't saying. She wondered how long it would take them to open up again, and to be able to be close. And then she started to wonder when he would leave again, and if he would. Would it be at the end of the journey?

"I thought you were dead," Edmund said again, disrupting her thoughts, but also giving her some clarity in what wasn't being said. In this case, it had been said, but she simply hadn't listened closely enough. Where she was struggling with the thought of how long he had been gone, as well as the anxiety of when he would leave again, what had disturbed Edmund the most was that he had been dealing with her death for so long and suddenly she was there. She couldn't imagine. For her, she knew Edmund could be alive as long as she lived—every day, although in time they would be separated by age. But for him, he had believed there was a very short window, and that window had passed a long time ago. She sat watching him silently, wondering what to do next. She had been wrong to kiss him right away, before they had figured it all out, but she found herself wanting to do it again. To assure him that she was alive and that he was there with her, and that soon they would find their normalcy again. Soon.

"I've been having nightmares, every night since you left," she spoke openly, deciding to begin the process.

"Are they-"

"About my father? Yes. It's been three years, but I still have them. And it's the same, slightly different each time, but overall the same. Some nights they wake me up, some nights I can't wake up. But it's been strange, in the castle. Lonely. Whenever I wake up, I stay in my room—although it's not my room because I can't go back to my old one. I'm surprised I don't have nightmares about Ana too, but I know sleeping in that room wouldn't help. I haven't talked much to Caspian about this, but really he's the only one I could imagine talking to about it since he was there when it happened. When I used to have nightmares, you know, I would run to my parents' room, go to my mother and shake her gently until she woke up. She would let me sleep between her and my father, and the nightmares would go away. I don't know how, but they would. I can't do that now, so I really don't know what to do." She had thrown the first stone at the wall between them, but she had to stop herself. She wanted to say everything, but she knew it needed to come more gradually.

"I've been having nightmares too. I talked to Lucy about them, some, but it's nothing she really needed to hear. I don't really want to tell you much about them either-"

"Why not? Haven't I just told you about mine?"

"Because they're about you. I see you, and you die in every one of them." Mary pushed herself off of her hammock and came to him, sitting beside him and staring ahead. She was tempted to ask him how she dies in his dreams, but she also wished to respect that he didn't want to tell her, and what they needed to show each other now was patience. So instead of questioning him, she began to laugh, calling Edmund's attention. "What's so funny, then?"

"I'm sorry, but who is that boy who came with you? I don't think I've ever heard such an irritating voice. And he fainted at the sight of a Minotaur? Well I remember the first time I saw one-" Mary stopped, remembering the first one she had seen had been after the siege, and it had not been alive. "Well, anyway, I didn't react so ridiculously."

"Try sharing a room with him for almost a year. He's my cousin, but I've never had to associate myself with him before. I was definitely not counting on him coming with us, but somehow he managed to be pulled in as well."

"Then Aslan must have some kind of purpose for him here."

"You think he can fix him?" Mary laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

"Crazier things have happened, have they not?" She smiled and stood up, Edmund standing as well. She turned back around and faced him, not stepping back although she noticed they were too close.

"I want a rematch," Mary stated directly. "I think I could have taken you, but I got distracted when I heard your name-"

"I think the point of a fight is to not get distracted-"

"You know this was a special circumstance. And you also know that I had you worried, while we were fighting. Why else would you have settled with tripping me as a last effort?"

"It wasn't a last effort, it was strategic."

"Ah, of course." Mary turned and stepped onto the first step, suddenly turning back again. Edmund quickly stopped from stepping up and looked at her in confusion until she spoke. "I knew you were coming back, you know. I didn't know when, and I didn't know how, but I knew you would be back. Even if it were too late, I knew you would." Edmund furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to question her, but she knew what he was going to ask. "I knew because you left this." She reached into a small pocket on her belt and pulled out a battered ribbon, bringing it to her lips as she had always done and smiling at him. "After you change into more Narnian clothes maybe you can tie this on your hilt, if you'd like. But for now this should do." She pulled him forward and tied the ribbon onto one of his belt loops. "When I found it after you left, Aslan told me to hold onto it. It was the greatest promise he had given me. I may have started to doubt it more recently, but I;d always remind myself that I was saving this for a reason." Edmund looked down to where her fingers remained on the ribbon, and he took her hand, bringing it to his lips as she had done with the ribbon and kissing her hand.

"I wish I had been given a similar promise," he said, remembering how within the first few moments of his return to England he realized it was gone, and to him it spoke loudly to the unlikelihood that he would ever see her again.

"Maybe you had, but it was harder for you to see in whatever world you returned to. It's of little importance now, anyway, because you have returned. So shall we go fight, because we have a long journey ahead of us and we have to make sure we have the best swordsman of Narnia at his finest? I'm afraid you may have become the second, in your absence." Edmund laughed and followed Mary quickly up the stairs, retrieving his sword from the deck and preparing to fight.

"You think quite highly of yourself, don't you?" Mary lifted her sword and placed one arm behind her back, showing that she had gotten stronger and no longer needed to wield her sword with two hands.  
>As she prepared to fight, she thought back over the last few years and the training she had put herself through. Before Edmund fought her father, Peter had told her how Edmund had become such a great swordsman. He told her about how he spent so much time alone, looking for a purpose-somewhere he could succeed. He had admitted to her that one day when watching Edmund train, he could see that Edmund was fighting something much greater than the air in front of him. She had found herself fall into this same kind of training, using it as a way to fight away the demons that invaded her dreams. She began to understand what Edmund went through, although she had not experienced it nearly as long as he had. But they fought the same opponent-the image of a traitor. Themselves as a traitor. It was something they now shared, and yet in a way it was pulling them apart.<p>

"I've been training, you know," she informed him as they began to circle each other.

"Don't forget who trained you first."

"I wouldn't dare."

**Reunited! :) Anyway, it was slightly awkward, yes, but that was intentional. Remember when they were separated neither really "loved" the other, so it's hard to see exactly where they are emotionally right now. Things will start to settle into place next chapter when Mary talks to Lucy some about what she's feeling and things start to be revealed about what happened during their time apart. Also, these nightmares both are having will come up again, as I will start to introduce what is them since neither has quite revealed that. I guess what I'm saying is there is a lot coming up, and connections will soon be made. I hope you enjoyed their reunion though, and I hope you're ready for the next chapter!**

**I'd also like to thank everyone for reviewing! I was worried that I would lose a lot of followers, and although the number of views has gone down, the response is even greater! Thanks for the encouragement! **


	3. Chapter 3

"Peace? In all of Narnia?" Edmund looked up from the map in front of him at Caspian, pushing off the desk and standing up straight, crossing his arms. "Then if there are no wars to fight, and no one is in trouble, why exactly are we here?"

"Must we really question it? Can we not just be happy that you did return?" Mary asked from the other side of the room, her back leaning against the shelves behind her.

"Of course we can, and we are," Caspian said. "I assume there must be some reason though, one which we just haven't come across yet."

"So you expect trouble to come? Where are we sailing to, anyway?" Caspian and Edmund both leaned in closer to the map, Caspian pressing his finger against a small clump of islands roughly sketched onto the old paper. "The Lone Islands."

"Why?" Caspian glanced to Mary who was no longer looking in their direction, but instead down at her hands. However, the moment of silence caught her attention and she looked back up, frowning at Caspian and sighing.

"And I thought we were past this tiptoeing, Caspian. Don't be so afraid to speak in front of me, I beg you." Edmund looked back to Caspian in question.

"Before we took back the throne from my uncle, he tried to kill my father's closest friends and most loyal supporters—the seven lords of Telmare," he continued. "They fled to the Lone Islands. No one's heard from them since."

"So you think something's happened to them?"

"Well if it has, it's my duty to find out." Edmund nodded in understanding.

"And what's East of the Lone Islands?" Edmund asked curiously, flattening the paper where it was blank.

"Uncharted waters. No one has tried to map the area. Tales of sea serpents and such has deterred many explorers."

"Sea serpents?" Edmund nearly laughed, amused, looking to Caspian to see what he thought. However, before Caspian spoke the door to the cabin opened.

"They took Eustace below deck. He hasn't woken yet, but I'm sure we'll know when he does."

"Lucy!" Mary rushed to the door and embraced Lucy. "Finally, another girl. I've been on a ship full of men for too long, and I am so relieved to have you now." Lucy hugged Mary tightly before letting go, her smile and excitement growing upon seeing her old friend. "Has anyone shown you around the ship yet?"

"Not yet."

"Then let me do it so we can leave these two boys to talk about their sea serpents." Mary smiled and looked back at the two, taking Lucy's arm.

"Sea serpents?" Lucy asked amused.

"Yes, and they sound utterly ridiculous." Before either could defend himself, Lucy and Mary left and returned to the main deck.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather spend more time with Edmund? You seemed extremely excited to him." Mary looked to Lucy smiling and quickly blushed.

"Yes, that might not have been the most appropriate response. You see, things aren't quite the same as when we parted. I wish they would be, but they're not. Not yet, at least." Mary could see the look of concern on Lucy's face, as the young girl cared for both her brother and Mary. "But let's avoid such heavy topics when you have just arrived." Mary began to walk forward, but Lucy stayed behind, looking back where Caspian and Edmund spoke beyond the door. She wanted to tell Mary everything she had seen in Edmund that had worried her, hoping Mary may be able to help him like she had before. But she was right, there would be a time for concerns, but the time was not now. They had only just returned to a place they wondered if they'd ever see again, and to the people they loved and thought had died. There were too many things to appreciate in that moment to dwell on the hardships of the time that had passed. So in that moment, Lucy followed Mary to look over the side of the ship and admire the beauty of the mermaids below.

* * *

><p>She no longer woke up gasping or crying. She could only be surprised and horrified so many times before she became desensitized, and furthermore, she welcomed consciousness over enduring the entirety of the nightmare. Now, she simply opened her eyes, feeling her heart beating slightly quicker than usual. It took her a moment to remember where she was, and remember why she no longer slept in her room. It had been a year since it all happened, but she was still haunted by the images of all the terror that happened within the walls. She slowly moved out of her bed and took a candle from the table, placing it in its holder and lighting it. With quiet steps, she walked out into the hallway and began the path she took every night when she woke. She first stopped and briefly peered into her parents' room, left as it had always been. There was nothing to see in there, so she moved on, walking to the hallway where it all began.<p>

Every night it had been the same—empty. She wasn't sure where Edmund would be if he ever came back, but a part of her almost expected to run into him in that hallway. As she turned the corner she began to hear footsteps louder than her own, and she stopped where she was, listening closely.

"Edmund?" she whispered sadly, wondering if she had reached the point of distress where she would begin seeing hallucinations. For how long could she trust her own mind under all of the stress and sadness it had endured? She quickened her steps, though remaining nearly silent, and turned the corner, seeing a boy walking quickly in the other direction. She couldn't see him well in the dark, but nevertheless her heart beat faster and her eyes woke up. "Who is it?" she asked loudly, the boy glancing behind him, then running. "Come back!" she screamed, picking up the bottom of her gown and running after him. As they ran they soon reached the end of the corridor, and the boy was stopped by a locked door. He struggled with the handle, but it would not move. "Show your face," Mary ordered, holding up her candle, illuminating the small space. He sighed and turned slowly.

"Please, I meant no disrespect or harm."

"You are not who I was expecting," she spoke with disappointment, lowering her candle to her side. "I am not really sure who I was expecting. It's only been a year, so mere minutes could not have passed since he left. He would not be brought back in such a short of amount of time. And he would not run from me." Mary spoke mostly to herself as she turned and backed herself up against the wall, staring blankly ahead before lowering herself to the ground and placing the candle beside her. The boy watched her curiously, moving closer and asking if she were all right.

"Perhaps I was even hoping you were an illusion. That he was an illusion. It would be better than nothing, and yet how would my people feel if their queen were crazy? I have to be sane for them, if not for myself."

"You are the queen then! You are the one who fled the castle and fought alongside the Narnians!"

"I am also the one who killed your king."

"Your highness, you are quite the legend among your people. Despite the fear many had of the people who had been painted as monsters, for many of us our fear shifted from the mystery of the Narnians to our own king. We heard about the horrible things he had done. Ana was your lady's maid, was she not?" Mary switched her gaze to the boy who had stepped closer to her.

"Did you know Ana?"

"I am also a servant of your castle, your highness," he said, bowing his head in respect. "Ana was a close friend of mine. We all knew when she died that the King was to blame."

"Then you must also know I am to blame. Because she helped me she was punished."

"No one blamed you. We all mourned for you as well. You were closer to the king than we were, and we could only imagine how miserable your life was. We all hoped you would escape. Many of us knew of your frequent visits to the prisoner your father kept—the Narnian king. We hoped he might help you." The boy grew more confident speaking in front of Mary as he recalled the exciting, and yet terrifying time he had encountered as a servant of the castle in a time of war. He had only ever heard of Mary, but he had dreamed of meeting the girl and telling her how brave he thought she was. Before he was able to say any more, she spoke, looking at him curiously as if trying to determine his identity, although they had never met.

"What happened after I left? Do you know what happened to my mother?" Mary watched the boy's face turn pale as he stepped out of the candle's light, shaking his head. "You do, don't you? Tell me!" She stood and faced him, but he raised his hand and pleaded.

"You know what happened, why are you questioning it?" His entire disposition had changed, taking on a more defensive quality.

"My father told me she became ill and died. That's all I know, and I know it is not true. So then, if you know what happened I beg that you share it with me. What am I not being told?"

"I don't know any more than you."

"I can see on your face that is not true! Why will you not tell me what you know? I am your queen, you must be honest before your queen!" Mary yelled, but the boy shook his head muttering his apologies and ran past her, disappearing around the corner. Mary gripped the base that held her candle and felt her hand shaking. She screamed and threw it against the wall, the metal crashing and clanging as it hit the ground. She covered her mouth with her shaking hand and fell back to the ground, heaving as she spoke between sobs. "I have truly lost everyone and everything." She untied the ribbon from her wrist, for she always had it with her, and rubbed her thumb over it before throwing it to the ground. "They will bury me with this stupid ribbon, and I will be waiting with it even in my grave." She was not able to steady her breathing and continued to cry loudly, feeling the weight of the year that had passed that she had tried to ignore for too long. "I will never see them again," she mumbled into her sleeve, trying to be quieter. "I feel truly alone."

"Mary?" As the voice came closer she became embarrassed, wiping the tears from her eyes and taking deep breaths. Caspian came around the corner with his sword drawn, lowering it as he observed the state of his cousin, the broken candle across the hall and the ribbon by her feet.

"How do you do it?" She asked quietly, her voice shaking. "Do you not miss them? I tried-"

"Mary." Caspian dropped his sword and knelt beside Mary, pulling her into a hug. She held onto his arm and started to cry again. "I'm not okay either. There is no reason we should be."

* * *

><p>"I'm okay!" Mary assured as she walked carefully across the wooden beam.<p>

"Mary, no one else is around, and if you fall there is no way I will be able to catch you! Now please, come down before you hurt yourself."

"Don't worry so much, Lucy, I have done this before." She continued to move across the beam, Lucy following under her, looking around occasionally to see if anyone were nearby. Mary reached the end of the beam, untangling the rope that held the flag up. Once it was untangled, the flag returned to its normal position and began to beat in the wind. "See, we didn't need anyone's help. It's fixed."

"You could still fall," Lucy warned, although she could not hide her smile for Mary's success. She continued following under her as she made her way back across. Once she reached where it connected to the larger wooden beam attached to the ship, she sat down and prepared to jump. "Mary, be careful, the ship is rocking more than usual. Mary!" As she prepared to jump, the ship unexpectedly tilted sharply, rocking to one side. Lucy stumbled back trying to stay on her feet, and Mary was forced to jump from the beam before she intended. She stumbled forward, the crew yelling to each other as they pulled the ropes and worked to steady the ship. Mary fell into the railing, the wood hitting at her stomach and her hands pushing against it so she wouldn't go over. As the boat began to tilt the other way she held onto the rail until it became level. Once the crew had it under control, she turned back around and sat, taking shallow breaths from where the impact of the rail knocked the air out of her.

"Mary, are you all right?" Edmund asked, running and sitting in front of her. "I saw what happened. You almost went over!" Mary nodded, still struggling to catch her breath. She lifted her arm, looking at her wrist where her hand had been pushed up against of the edge. "Did you hurt it?"

"I think so," she struggled to say as he held her arm in his hands, gently taking hold of her wrist.

"At least it's not your dominant arm," he said as he watched closely, making sure to bend it only slightly. She winced, so he stopped. "I don't think it's broken."

"It's really not that bad. I'll be careful. What caused the boat to rock so suddenly?"

"I'm not sure. Here," Edmund said as he placed her arm around his neck, wrapping his arm around her waist and standing up slowly, helping her to her feet.

"I'm fine, really. It's my wrist, I can walk." For a moment she thought to move away from him, but she decided to accept his help. Since he had been gone she had learned a great degree of independence, but she realized that before, when he had been struggling with his past and her with her present, they had found a level of dependence for each other. Maybe that was the first step to finding their normalcy: accepting the other's help and attention.

"Mary, are you hurt?" Lucy asked, following them as Edmund helped her back towards the captain's room.

"Very minimal, Lucy. And I would have been fine if the ship had not tilted so drastically."

"I'd say you're lucky you didn't go over! Is it your wrist then?" she asked, looking to where Mary was holding it closely to her. "It's already beginning to bruise! Are you going to wrap it?" She asked Edmund.

"I'm hoping to find something we may use."

"Are you all right, Lucy?" Mary asked, directing the attention away from herself briefly, remembering that Lucy had fallen from the impact.

"I am not the one who fell from a she use it?" she spoke to Edmund once again.

"Best if she not for awhile."

"And what if we have to fight?"

"And why would we need to fight?" Edmund stopped, stopping Mary with him, and turned his attention to Lucy.

"Some of the men are yelling that they see land."

**Yay, first flashback! Things are starting to come together :) Next scene they will leave the ship, things are going to get more intense, and there will be more scenes between Mary and Edmund as well as some focus on Lucy. I realize that in my first story she may have seemed a little fragile, but I hope I portrayed it as more fragile physically, and showed that although she did often worry about others, she had a strong mind. Next chapter I will begin developing her strength physically, as in this book/movie she has more of a part in the fighting. I will also develop her insecurities, as well as for everyone else, although I don't intend to make any of them come across as weak. I also plan to update sooner :) As always, thanks for reading! I appreciate all the reviews!**


	4. Chapter 4

**My apologies for the long hiatus. I am on a break, and so I expect to be able to write more. To make up for the time I wrote this super long chapter, and I've already finished a fair portion of the next. Another flashback! Please enjoy :)**

"Mary, what happened?" Caspian asked as she, Edmund, and Lucy approached the edge of the ship where he was speaking to the second-in-command.

"I took a small fall when the boat rocked. It's very minor." She put her hand up in assurance and Caspian nodded, handing the telescope he had to Edmund.

"Land," he stated, pointing to where the eye alone could only see a small disruption in the endless waters. Edmund looked through the telescope then handed it to Mary.

"So what is it then? The Lone Islands?"

"According to our maps that is all it could be, but from here we cannot see any Narnian flags. Perhaps we need to get closer before we see some."

"Strange, I didn't see any. But the Lone Islands have always been Narnia's, unless something happened?"

"No, not at all. By our knowledge they should be flying Narnian flags."

"Then I say we prepare a landing party." Edmund looked to the second-in-command, but the man nervously bowed his head and glanced to Caspian.

"My apologies, your majesty, but the chain of command starts with King Caspian on this ship." The air grew tense and Edmund nodded slowly, muttering a quiet "right" in response.

"Well then, if Caspian has this under control, I'll go help Mary wrap her wrist before we leave."

"Yes, and until then, sir, please prepare the long boats, and pick some men to come ashore. Edmund, I will call for you three when we begin to move."

"Edmund, I am going to check on Eustace while you do that. I haven't heard him recently, which worries me." Edmund smiled, wondering what someone would have to do to make Lucy not care for him anymore.

"If he's asleep, leave him that way!"

"Edmund, he would be terrified if he woke and we were gone. I think he has to come with us; anyway, it will be easier to keep an eye on him that way. I'm sure he'll find his way into trouble somehow."

"If you say so, Lu, but I think you are too kind to him for how he acts to us."

"Mercy, Edmund. Let us show mercy." Edmund looked to Lucy for a moment before the two chuckled, going their separate ways.

* * *

><p>"So does this 'chain of command' not bother you?" Mary sat on the desk in the captain's room while Edmund found a long strip of cloth he could use for wrapping. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of her, holding her wrist in his hands and placing the fabric over it, looking up to her before starting.<p>

"So it did upset you? I thought it might have."

"Well it has to upset you! You are their queen and they didn't even look at you."

"It shouldn't surprise you Edmund, as it doesn't surprise me, that these men prefer to look and take their orders from a man. No matter how close I become to the crew or how much respect I may gain, I understand that on this voyage I do not call their orders. This is Caspian's voyage—in all honesty I was not necessarily invited. The day he departed I ran on board and begged he let me come. And I am not the only one who requested a last minute exception," Mary added. "Anyway, we struggle enough with power back in Telmar. I figured on sea I would let the tension subside. This is his journey. The wars we have fought, they have been for us. This is Caspian's war—this has to do with the wrong my father did to his." Edmund nodded, looking back down to her wrist and pulling the fabric tightly around it. She winced at the pressure, and his eyes shot back up to hers, but she nodded for him to continue.

"You say there is a power struggle between the two of you? Are the two of you in conflict?"

"No, not at all. If anything it is confusion. I am a queen without a king, and he is a king without a queen. Because of what my father did, it is hard for us to know who is rightfully expected to take the thrown. However, because Aslan did say I would rule, he is trying to respect that. The problem now is convincing the people that I am in power and can be without being married. I have been…encouraged…to establish the role of a king."

"Marry?"

"Yes. I have been stalling as long as I can, but with Caspian near many are beginning to wonder if he should take power. They are much more comfortable at the thought of a man without a queen than a woman alone. It is something we have discussed rather extensively, but we are getting nowhere." Edmund continued to wrap the cloth down her arm, stopping midway and tearing it off. "Don't let it get to you, okay?" Edmund secured the loose end of the wrap and came to sit next to her on the desk.

"I am just glad to be here. And I understand." They sat in silence for a moment before Mary looked at him quickly, as if she had just remembered something.

"Your back! How is it? It's been a year, so I guess I'm asking if it left a scar. May I look?" She lifted the back of his shirt slightly, quickly touching the unblemished skin. "I don't believe it!"

"It was gone the moment I left."

"Then you really can't take anything back with you, can you?"

"Nothing but memories, and there comes a time when you begin to question those. It's hard to only have memories, and for only the four of us to remember them."

"It does seem crazy, doesn't it?" Mary said, leaning back onto her palms. "All of it happened only three years ago—well for you one year—and it hardly even seems real. There is so much that has changed, and so many things I still don't know, that sometimes I think back to how crazy you seemed when I first met you. The things you spoke of—the Narnians themselves seemed unbelievable. It's crazy now, isn't it? All those secrets. They never have done any good, no matter what people say about the safety of ignorance. If it cannot last, is it worth it?"

* * *

><p>"Your majesty, I have been asked to bring in your meal today. I was told you and the king would eat separately." The young boy slowly entered the queen's room, bowing his head immediately as she turned from her window and acknowledged him. He had never been in her presence before, and it was obvious he was nervous.<p>

"You look about the age of my young Mary," she spoke softly, motioning for him to place her food on the table. "Have you ever seen her? My baby? She is quite beautiful." The queen pulled a chair to the table, sitting in front of her plate and smiling sadly. " I'm sorry, but have you heard anything about her that I may not have heard? I was told she helped that young Narnian king escape, and she even left with him. It is so heartbreaking to see how desperate she was to leave here, and to think that we drove her away. And now all I want is word that she is okay, and to know that she will not be harmed, and this I have been denied. Please, tell me boy, have you heard anything?"

"I'm sorry miss, but I believe all that is being shared in the kitchen is gossip. I don't think it would be very helpful." The queen looked at the boy and smiled despite her tears, wiping them away and nodding.

"Of course, of course. I am so sorry for putting you in a difficult place. My husband has ordered complete silence for my ears, and he has made sure his order be kept." She looked down at her food and looked back up to where the boy stood near the door, ready to bow and leave. "Would you please come sit with me? It would provide me the greatest comfort. Please, eat some of this food, too. My appetite is nearly lost." The boy hesitated, but as she was his queen he had no choice but to agree and sit at the small table with her. "Go ahead, please. Eat." She smiled and watched as he took a piece of the bread, holding it tightly in his hand.

"Thank you, my queen. Your gratitude is appreciated."

"Please, don't thank me for allowing you to eat the food you yourself made. If anything, I should thank you." She smiled reassuringly and took her fork, beginning to eat the contents of the plate. "Did you know Ana?" His breath hitched, wondering if the queen were trying to press him to say something inappropriate. "Please, I am sure you know the cruelty of my husband, which whether or not you believe me, I wholeheartedly believe has come from his growing insanity as I would like to remember him as the good person he used to be—but let me assure you, I am not like him. I would like an honest answer."

"Yes, your majesty, she was a very close friend of mine." And despite the boy's fear, he also began to feel anger for her death. But his anger disappeared quickly as he looked at the queen and understood she was not her husband, and she actually seemed quite kind. It made him sad to think of everything she had been put through as the one closest to the dangerous king.

"You must have your suspicions about her death, as did my daughter, and as I have. I believe she was poisoned. I believe she was ordered to be poisoned by my husband. This is something I should have kept to myself, for saying this I accuse my king of murder, but in my anger of how he caused me to lose my only child, I said these words before him. I said many words before him, and now I have been ordered to remain in my room while the Narnian situation is being handled. May I confide in you, for lack of any other human contact?" The boy nodded slowly, nearly holding his breath as the woman spoke to him with unexpected honesty. "I fear my husband plans to have me killed."

"Queen Prunaprismia, I must ask that the boy leave your chambers. Your husband has requested you be guarded in solitude, for your safety," one of the guards said, looking into her room from outside the door.

"Yes, for my safety. I am a lucky queen. Well, my dear boy, I want to thank you for listening to a lonely, grieving woman speak of her sorrows and paranoia. But before I go, can I ask you one more thing?"

"Yes, miss?" Tears began to fall down her face as she smiled, taking the boy's hand in her own and focusing on him.

"If I am no longer here the day my daughter returns, please find some way to watch out for her. Her father loves her, but he has lost his way, and his idea of love has become dangerously possessive and controlling. If he brings her back here, please, whatever it takes, the day she gets a chance to leave again, I beg you help her escape. I know the severity of what I am asking, but I no longer know what to do." The boy was silent, only nodding in response. He was speechless, feeling as though he had been punched in the stomach as he was uncomfortable with the idea of his life becoming so entangled in the deadly affairs of the royals. She brought her hands up to her lips, kissing his hand sweetly, letting him go. He looked back once before leaving the room, watching her finish her meal. After another bite, she placed her fork back on the table, turning her head behind her and peering out her window.

"Come on boy, what are you lingering for?" The guard at the door pulled him roughly by his shirt, ushering him along his way. As he turned the corner and made his way back to the kitchen, he let the piece of bread fall from his hand, leaving it behind as he began using his hand to wipe away his tears. He prayed one day he would be stronger.

* * *

><p>"So I see the little pest woke up?" Edmund scowled as he held out his hand to help Eustace on their boat.<p>

"Little pest? I suggest you treat me with more respect, _cousin_, because the moment we get back-" Eustace stumbled and grabbed Edmund's hand to keep from falling, straightening up quickly and pulling his hand away.

"You were saying?" Edmund asked, reaching around Eustace to help Mary onto the boat.

"I must say, young sir, your manners are lacking in the presence of royalty." Reepicheep jumped onto the edge of the boat, scurrying to the front near Caspian.

"Royalty? Royalty! You are all nuts, the whole lot of you are just crazy." Eustace crossed his arms and sat next to Mary, glancing to her quickly before frowning deeper and looking at the ground.

As they rowed closer to land, a few of the men jumped into the shallow water and finished pulling the boat to land, anchoring it to the shore. Two other boats pulled up beside them, the men from the boats joining the others on shore.

"Listen," Lucy spoke up. There was silence as they obeyed. "Where is everyone?"

"Something doesn't seem right," Mary added, her hand resting on her sword.

"Then maybe we should head back. Nothing's here it seems like, and I know I don't want to run into any trouble, so perhaps we should row these things back to that monstrosity of a boat and start trying to find a way home-" Everyone looked back as Eustace fell over the edge of the boat, falling face first into the sand and struggling to jump back up. "Ugh, stupid boats!" he yelled, spitting sand out of his mouth. Reepicheep came to stand beside Lucy and Edmund, sighing as he looked back.

"And you're certain he's related by blood?" They walked up a stone slope and ventured around, looking into a few houses, but overall determining the place deserted.

"Reepicheep, we'll head up. If we're not back by dawn, send a party."

"Of course, your majesty." Reepicheep nodded to Caspian and ran back with the others, continuing to explore some of the structures closer to shore.

"Something isn't quite right here. There are no Narnian flags, and there are no inhabitants in sight. We don't know what we're about to walk into. Does everyone have a weapon?"

"A weapon? You think I know how to use one of those things?" Eustace shrilled. Caspian rolled his eyes and threw him a dagger, Eustace jumping back and letting it hit the ground before picking it up.

"I know it wouldn't do you much good. I was asking for Lucy's sake."

"I have this," she said, holding up a short sword. "But I haven't had much practice."

"You'll be able to hold your own, Lu. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for." Edmund touched her arm reassuringly, causing her to stand a little straighter.

"It wouldn't hurt to have an extra sword, if not for your cousin's sake. Wait here a minute." Caspian looked over the crowd of his men and ran back to shore, speaking to one of the younger men. He smiled and patted him on the back, the two quickly returning to the others.

"Mary has spoken very highly of Jasper. I think he would be a good addition for this expedition."

"It's true. I trained him myself. He is a very good friend of mine, and I trust him." Jasper looked to her in surprise, bowing in response.

"Thank you, Mary. I'm glad to hear it."

"You look very familiar, Jasper. Do you happen to be one of the men who retrieved us from the water when we first arrived?" Lucy asked. Jasper looked up from bowing and smiled.

"I was the one who tried to save you, but you were not very interested in my help. My apologies if I made you feel threatened, and I hope you accept my help now."

"Of course." Lucy smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear, but it went unnoticed as Caspian ushered them on, worried it would get dark while they explored the unknown area. As they came into an area with modest houses, they noticed the boards across the windows and doors and continued moving, not suspecting anyone could be in them. However, Eustace ventured over to one of them and curiously looked through a space between two boards. He found himself looking into the eyes of a terrified, dirty group of people—a family, he presumed. He looked from them to his moving party, suddenly considering what revealing them would mean for him. No matter how he thought of it, he couldn't think of a way that helping them would help himself. What he wanted was to find nothing and return to the ship, but alerting the others to the family in need of help would only prolong their stay and make it more dangerous as well.

"Nope, I don't see anything. Nothing here, best to move on I'd say. This has all been a waste of time." He stopped talking as Edmund looked back and titled his head, questioning the boy's strange behavior.

"Do you want to come here and guard, or something?" he asked, hoping to keep Eustace out of his way.

"Oh yes, good idea. I can do that. Just stand here you say? I will let you know if I see anything. I'm sure we'll be out of here in no time." He rushed over to stand in front of the doors the others opened, entering a large building. They could hear his reassuring comments as they walked in, noticing large statues lining the edges of the building, a stone pedestal holding an old book in the center of the room. As they walked to the book, Mary touched the bottoms of the chains hanging from the ceiling, looking up to see the outlines of bells, although the majority of the ceiling was dark. The only light in the room shone on the book, and soon she joined the others in looking at it.

"Who are all these people?" Lucy asked, touching the list of names written in the book. The ink appeared fairly new, despite the age of the pages.

"And why have they been crossed out?" Edmund wondered, noting the majority had been.

"Looks like some kind of fee," Mary said, drawing attention to the varying numbers beside each name.

"Slave traders," Jasper spoke sternly, leaning in and recognizing the format. Lucy looked to him with concern, noticing how his originally relaxed face had become harsher.

"Jasper, how do you-" as Lucy began to speak, the bells Mary had noted earlier began to ring loudly, and with them came the cry of multiple men. They turned their backs to the book and drew their weapons, soon finding their enemies jumping from the chains, the source of the ringing bells. They were much different from the soldiers they were all used to from the wars—they were large and mean, carrying dangerously curved swords and each with a particular snarl.

"Lucy, stay with Jasper," Caspian warned, and Lucy complied, moving closer to the boy and holding her sword before her, pointing it in multiple directions as she tried to predict which would come at her first.

They were outnumbered, each promised more than one opponent. The fighting all began at once, and the weaker opponents fell quickly. Mary pushed her first opponent to the ground, preparing for the second. She kept her face stern, keeping it from faltering when she noticed the size of the man she was facing. He smiled, and she knew he was underestimating her, but her confidence wasn't as high as usual. Not only would he be stronger, making it more necessary for her to revert to holding her sword with both hands, but also her wrist was still tender and she feared she wouldn't be able to fight her best. The first time their swords clashed, she felt it nearly pull from her hand. He was incredibly stronger than any opponent she had fought before. In war, the environment she had been originally trained in, the men were all the same. Nearly the same height, weight, and level of ability, she had never met as rough a fighter as the one she faced now. He had no technique, nothing to predict, but in his case his strength was enough. Her reflexes forced her to use both hands despite her condition, and when his sword came down again, she nearly cried out as her sword pulled sideways along with her wrist. She knew she couldn't win as long as their swords were the one fighting, and she would have to make a direct hit. As he came closer, causing her to back up, she found a time to lunge forward and cut him with the blade. It did not hit him centrally as she had hoped, and the injury was of little concern. Now she was close, and he was able to pin her arms between his own arm and his side. She stumbled closer to him, but he soon released her and fell.

"Mary, your wrist?" Edmund asked, stepping over the man.

"Is making this much more difficult."

Caspian had managed to step away from the battle and was able to use his crossbow to shoot a few of the men still descending from the chains. With the new advantage, their chances of victory seemed more likely. As Lucy dodged an attack, Jasper took her place and defeated her attacker. Lucy grabbed her dagger from her belt and threw it at another man coming their way, hitting him directly in the chest. Mary was fighting another man, their swords held together above their heads while Edmund came under and slashed across his chest. As another came their way, with their swords ready, every one stopped at the sound of a high-pitched scream.

"Unless you want to hear this squirm squeal like a girl again, I'd say you should drop your weapons." A man in wealthy clothing walked into the room holding a knife to Eustace's throat. Slowly, each sword dropped, Edmund's falling last as he glared at Eustace. "Put 'em in iron!" the man yelled.

"I am your King—King Caspian, along with your Queen and the Narnian King and Queen of Old. I believe you are making a terrible mistake." Caspian sneered as the man ignored him and placed the shackles on his wrists.

"Kings and Queens? Well, these titles mean nothing in this business, sir. Perhaps you can fetch us a higher price, but besides that, those titles are useless to me. If anything, it only makes me hate you more." He threw Eustace to a man who placed shackles on his wrists as well. "Line 'em up so I can look at 'em." The men roughly placed them in a line side by side as the finely dressed man walked immediately to where Mary and Lucy stood. "Never have seen a woman fight like you do," he spoke with admiration as he looked over Mary. "Shackles?" he asked, placing his hand out as a pair were handed to him. He roughly grabbed her wrists in one hand and brought them up.

"Please, dear sir, is there a chance I can do without those? I promise not to cause a problem, but as you see-"

"Ah, you're hurt, yes I see. Well, in respect of your comfort, which I do care about so deeply, perhaps I will just let you go!" He smiled tauntingly, quickly placing his hand around the wrapping on her wrist and forcing it to bend drastically, his thumb pressing into her palm as she began to kneel to the floor crying out. He followed her, his face close to hers, and spoke very carefully. "I will not show mercy."

"Is that necessary? Let her go!" Edmund yelled, shoving at his captor and lunging towards the man. Before he got to him, another man hit Edmund across the face and sent him to the ground, roughly pulling him up by his shirt and returning him to his place in line. The man laughed, looking from Edmund to Mary, slowly allowing her wrist to straighten and holding her chin between his thumb and finger, stroking the side of her face with the back of his other hand.

"Ah, how tragic, huh? You are spoken for. Don't tell me you're in love. Why, that will only make all of this more tragic. Not only will I be separating you from this boy, but I will be selling you to another man. Well, the costs of business are great, and yet I profit so favorably." He stood, leaving Mary on the ground and looking to Lucy. "And you, such a youthful example. Oh, please don't tell me you are spoken for as well. I'm not sure I could live with so much tragedy in one group. Is this young man your caller?" He came to stand before Jasper, clasping his face between his hands, looking at him for a moment before pushing his head down. "I'm done with these sob stories. Take them away." With his words, Mary rushed to Edmund, looking at his face where he had been hit. "Fools! Separate the men and the women! They are going to two very different markets." The struggle began as the boys were taken in one direction and Mary and Lucy were pushed in another, but as they were outnumbered and restricted by shackles, there wasn't much they could do as they began to lose sight of each other, and Mary and Lucy were placed in a wagon to be taken to market while the boys were taken to a prison to be kept until the next shipment was called for. As they walked, Mary reached for Lucy's hand and squeezed it gently, whispering to her where the men couldn't hear.

"Lucy, I promise we will find a way out." Lucy smiled at her weakly, squeezing back.

"Don't we always?"

**I hope there weren't many errors! I just updated the chapter to take care of some mistakes I noticed after realizing many of my edits didn't get saved. I hope you enjoyed, and please leave your thoughts!**


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